Of the Big 3 press conferences, Sony had the strongest conference for gamers. This partially comes from one of the most impressive pieces of footage from a game already announced as well as an exciting new trailer as well that no one was expecting. While they did diverge slightly away from core games and put some emphasis on the move and a new peripheral, Sony definitely delivered the “gamer’s conference” when compared to Nintendo and Microsoft.
After a standard clip montage and Jack Tretton giving the same introductory speech that has been heard time and again, things started off strong with the reveal of Beyond: Two Souls by the same studio that brought us Heavy Rain. With the lead character played by Ellen Page, Beyond promises to bring together storytelling in gaming unlike anything seen before. With the footage below, it may be the truth.
What was one of the other hotly anticipated games that followed ended up being somewhat of a letdown for those watching. The crowd was strangely silent during the demo of PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale which looked generic as a Smash Brothers clone with a very boring level layout. Also announced as playable characters were Nathan Drake from Uncharted and the Big Daddy from Bioshock.
Tretton segued to the Pub Fund to help fund development of titles like Journey to the PSN and then talked about PlayStation Plus and the games that would be coming to it for members, including Infamous 2, Little Big Planet 2 and Saints Row 2. Those lucky enough to be there live were presented with a free year of PlayStation Plus which obviously elicited cheers from the audience.
After going through further improvements to the PSN including new services offered to members, Tretton revealed Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified which is coming to the PS Vita. Though no footage was shown, this may be the first true triple A quality game to be brought to a handheld device. Continuing with the triple A theme, Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation for Vita was revealed along with its own Vita bundle as well as information about the benefits for players owning both Assassin’s Creed III on PS3 and Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation. Immediately after, things switched over to Assassin’s Creed III where the public got to see the game’s naval battle scenario in action for the first time and a bundle was announced for the PlayStation 3.
Things kept pushing strong with the followup to last year’s open world announcement for Farcry 3 with a full four player coop campaign for the game as well. We got to take a look at the mission structure for it with an on stage demo. Things moved next to the Move with integration into titles like Bioshock Infinite, Little Big Planet Carting, Dust 415 and Sports Champions 2.
What came next for the Move, no one expected. Using the PlayStation Eye and Move wand, players could experience story books in a new way. Along with J.K. Rowling, the Wonderbook’s first title will be the Book of Spells, which promises to teach players about the world of magic and spellcasting in a literally form. In a second attempt at the mobile market, the PlayStation Suite was discussed as well as working with HTC for more PlayStation branded mobile gaming experiences.
God of War: Ascension followed with a brutal trailer with new powers showcasing how the series is willing to tempt fate with giving people more of a good thing. But what everyone was really waiting for, Sony held until the end with the gameplay footage of The Last of Us. Of all things, the gameplay of The Last of Us was the moment that won the show for Sony.
Take a look at the full press conference below from Sony or check out the highlights under it so you can skip to a specific game you wanted to see. As always, keep an eye on the Flickcast for all the E3 2012 news.
Highlights:
11:15 – Beyond: Two Souls Gameplay
18:55 – PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Trailer and Gameplay
29:45 – PlayStation Plus
35:20 – Assassin’s Creed III: Liberation Trailer
38:15 – Assassin’s Creed III Gameplay
44:30 – Farcry 3 Multiplayer Gameplay
48:45 – PlayStation Move
50:45 – Wonderbook
54:15 – Book of Spells Gameplay
1:08:00 – God of War: Ascension Gameplay
1:16:30 – The Last of Us Gameplay
